It’s really no secret that American culture has always had a fascinating with the mob despite the mob’s bloody, murderous history. For reasons that are still a mystery to many, people are fascinated by the mob world – the hierarchy of the mob families, the way they did business, even the coldhearted way they could murder someone and then go out to dinner. This helps explain why mob movies like The Godfather series Goodfellas are considered classics in American film culture and why there are still books and TV shows like The Sopranos on the air. This interest has even spread into video games like the Grand Theft Auto series and things like the Mafia Wars game on Facebook.
For Facebook, the Mafia Wars game is actually one of the most popular games on the site, if not the most popular. The game literally gets millions of hits every single day from people logging on to play. In fact, the game is so popular that the company that made it, Zynga, was able to start making real money off of it despite the fact that it’s free to play. They do this by selling things like health or exclusive content that isn’t necessary to the game but makes it easier – players can decide whether or not to invest their own money.
But why does the Mafia Wars game draw in so many people and what is it really about? The Mafia Wars game follows the life of a poor Italian kid who grew up in the Bronx who’s determined to make it in the New York City mob. When you first start playing, you take on the persona of a poor Italian kid in the Bronx who’s determined to make it in the mob. He joins the mob and starts off at the very bottom of the ladder – and then he starts to make his way up.
As the player completes jobs they are able to move up in the ranks of the mafia into a position where they can eventually assume control of the mafia they started out in – in other words, the goal of the Mafia Wars game is to take control of the mob you joined. The jobs themselves are typical jobs you associate with the mafia – breaking into or vandalizing buildings; murdering or “icing” people; even robbing banks or other stores are all jobs to be completed. However, there is a social aspect to the game as well – players can add their friends to their own “mob” so that when they are attacked – or when they attack others – their friends can help them defeat their enemies. This combination of social interaction and natural competitveness has made the Mafia Wars game a success on Facebook.